Under the Stars
by Suki59
Summary: Please read Over the Moon, then come and enjoy Under the Stars which is Eric's point of view in a world where vampires are still in the coffin, but Eric is drawn to a beautiful telepathic reporter named Sookie Stackhouse. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Charlaine Harris owns all this.

A/N: Please read Over the Moon before starting this story. It's from Sookie's perspective. Under the Stars is its companion, written in Eric's point of view.

I was bored. It's as simple as that. You can just imagine how tedious life gets after a thousand years or so. I had settled into a quiet life in Louisiana and was satisfied in general with my situation. I had a nice home with a beautiful view of a lake, all the books a person could read, every cable channel known to man, plenty of humans to snack on. I really had nothing specific to complain about, except that I was just bored.

I made it a point to follow local politics and news, if for no other reason, to make certain that my community had no suspicions of the existence of my kind. I had seen first hand too many times how quickly a vampire's undead life ended once the locals discovered him or her. It had been many decades since I'd heard of a staking in such a case, but those tales are not easily forgotten. I used to keep up with the latest novels written about vampires, but now I surfed the internet and scanned the news channels for information. One could never be too careful.

It was one night while I was watching the news that I first saw Sookie Stackhouse. She was a local reporter, very young and beautiful. I, of course, had my pick of young and beautiful whenever I wanted, but there was something about her that was different. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but she screamed of "other."

I hadn't had a profession to speak of in many decades and I suspected it would make it easier for my human staff to accept me if those who worked for me thought I had a purpose other than to suck blood and fuck. I got so tired of constantly glamoring my humans, and thought it would do us all good for me to go to work for awhile. I think the last time I had a profession it was sometime in the sixties and I was a competitive athlete in Europe—Sweden, in particular. A game called tennis. It was fun, but short-lived, of course.

And so I decided to become a journalist myself and use it as an excuse to find out more about this Sookie woman. I made my way to the local news station and glamored the manager with a hefty resume from CNN. He was fairly easy to glamor considering he was a shifter. I hate shifters, and wondered if he was also fucking that lovely Sookie person. I considered draining him just for annoying me with such a thought, but decided I'd better behave myself if I wanted to stick around.

I scheduled a series of interviews with people of interest in the area and the shifter let me use his staff and facilities. I realized that Sookie most likely worked during daylight hours and so it took awhile for me to get a chance to see her. Finally, one night, she was working late and I found her in the break room. I introduced myself, and she was very nervous for some reason. Sometimes, human women get flustered at my physical prowess, and at first I just assumed that Sookie was one of those, but then there was something about her that made me rethink my theory. She was other, there was no doubt about it, but what? I really didn't know, and that intrigued me.

For the next few weeks, I was able to find Sookie fairly frequently in the break room. I wondered if she noticed that I always came in for a cup of water, but never actually drank it. She was a wonderful conversationalist and I loved watching the jugular in her neck twitch when she laughed. She was quite stunning really, even better-looking in person that she was on television. She had a rare innocence about her, but yet seemed very intelligent as well. It was an unusual combination. I looked forward to tasting her and fucking her and thought it kind of a pity that she'd have to be glamored afterwards within an inch of her life. I considered poor Ginger at home who started out as a feed and a fuck, but after wiping out so much of her memory, I had to take pity on her and hire her to be my housekeeper. I seriously doubted if she could do much else, poor thing. At least I hadn't killed her.

Bobby Burnham, on the other hand, still had most of his mind intact and made for an excellent employee. Of course, I hadn't fucked him and had only fed on him a few times when I was desperate, so he hadn't required as much glamoring. I relied on him very much to run my household, manage my properties, just take care of my daytime needs.

I was interviewing the mayor one night and knew that Sookie was watching from the darkened control room. I knew that she was attracted to me, of course. All women are. I decided that I'd fuck her after the interview, have a sip of her, and then glamor on my way out. After the mayor left and I'd finished my close-ups, I locked the studio up and went in to see Sookie.

I kissed her and pressed myself between her legs. She responded beautifully. I found her jugular and bit down, and that's when the encounter went from my control to hers. She tasted like no other human I'd ever tasted. My mindless vampire instinct kicked in and I wanted to claim her as mine. Without even thinking, I bit my tongue and planted my blood in her. It's a physical response to finding a pleasing meal. I marked her with a vampire version of lojack so I could return to her and taste her again in the future. And in my mindless moment, the woman came. She had an actual orgasm in response to getting my blood, and so I lost it then and there and ruined a very expensive pair of pants.

As I was recovering from my shock (I can't remember the last time I was surprised by my own sexual response to a human.), she tried to turn on a light. I knew that there was no way I could retract my fangs fast enough and so I simply took off. I pulled over when I got far enough away from the city and closer to my property and assessed the damage. I was clearly out of control and that both disturbed me and thrilled me at the same time. Whatever other Sookie Stackhouse was, she was delicious and desirable and had thrown me for a loop. Quite unexpectedly, suddenly my life wasn't quite so boring.


	2. Chapter 2

I was smart enough to recognize that Sookie Stackhouse had me out of control. Out-of-control vampires don't live very long. I made the decision not to return to the station. My journalist career was over almost as soon as it began.

And so I went back to my usual diet of prostitutes and drunks—women that few will miss if they have to disappear, but every time I fucked another woman, I fantasized about Sookie. It pissed me off. I found myself watching the news, waiting for her face to appear and when it did, I was instantly hard and thirsty for her perfectly delicious blood. This woman had put a spell on me and it had me reeling. But I knew that for my own safety, I had to stay away.

That all changed the night I woke and felt her fear. It was pure and absolute terror. Again, it's simply a physiological response. I am wired to find my human prey when she is in danger. If some other predator gets to her, my meal ticket is gone. And so I briefly fought the instinct to find her, but then lost my resolve and left the house, disgusted with my weakness for this otherly human woman.

Some asshole was digging her grave in the woods—my human! Ready to toss her into the earth, still filled with all that delicious blood! I saw red at his stupidity and the potential loss and descended on him and drank him dry. In that instant, I knew that she would have to be glamored, of course, and sort of regretted wiping her lovely mind away a bit. Oh well, it had to be done.

I removed Sookie's ropes and checked to see that she wasn't harmed physically and then she did something unexpected. She touched my mouth. I knew that she could most likely see my fangs and she had certainly just seen me kill a man by sucking his blood. Most humans would be running from me in terror, but this woman wanted to touch my mouth. I was overcome with desire as I kissed her and she responded with a powerful lust—an unglamored human was lusting for me when she clearly knew what I was. It was unprecedented. I pressed her into the earth as I staked my claim. I was going to have to glamor her anyway to remove her memory of witnessing the killing. I thought I might as well enjoy a good fuck while I'm at it, and then erase it all from her mind at once.

But just as things were going where I wanted, something happened and Sookie began to laugh and cry in my arms. She clung to me tighter and I recognized the symptoms. She was losing her grip on reality and her sanity was in jeopardy. As horny as I was, I felt a twinge of guilt. Yes, it was amazing that she wanted me in spite of her learning of my true nature, but I realized that even she had a breaking point. The bastard that I had just killed may have tortured her earlier and her realization that I was a vampire and one that she wanted to have sex with was apparently too much for her, and so she was losing it. I felt an uncharacteristic empathy for her and stopped.

I took her down to the bastard's house and laid her on the sofa to glamor her. What good would it do to glamor her and then have her see the bastard's corpse on the ground at her feet? I soothed her fears and looked into her beautiful eyes and willed her memories away. But they didn't go away. She questioned me as to what I was doing. _Questioned_ me. I could not believe it. This human was just full of surprises. But then I realized that she was not just an ordinary human at all. She was different on many levels, and this simply confirmed it. When I asked what she was, her hysteria resumed as she admitted out loud what I was. I consoled her and told her she need not fear me even though I knew that I would most likely have to kill her now that I knew she couldn't be glamored. But I was still curious as to what she was.

When she said she was a telepath, I was stunned. Telepaths are extremely rare. It had been centuries since I'd ever even heard of one, and here I had one in my grasp. Hell, I'd even given her my blood. In an instant, I changed my mind about killing her. She was too valuable to just drain and toss into a hole with the bastard outside. This explained why she seemed so otherly to me and why I was so attracted to her and fascinated. Of course, her natural beauty was part of the attraction as well, but that only held my attention briefly in most cases. Beautiful women were common enough. Telepaths: not so much.

I quickly changed my strategy regarding the corpse outside and took an enormous chance that Sookie could handle the police and not reveal what she had seen. I closed the wound on bastard's neck and whacked him with the shovel—not too hard. I needed it to seem that it had been done by a human woman. Then I cleaned up my telepath and left her to deal with the authorities.

I flew to the downtown area. I often enjoyed lying on the roofs of the tall buildings under the stars. It helped to clear my mind. Plus I had a perfect vantage point from which to watch humans down below innocently going about their tasks. I would often watch them and wait for hours for just the right human before descending and capturing my prey.

But tonight I wasn't watching for a meal or a fuck. I was waiting for the coroner's van and lost in thought about a beautiful telepath that I wasn't certain what I was going to do about. Having an unglamored human with knowledge of my existence milling about was unnerving. And this one had a job in which she reported newsworthy events to the public. I was in a very precarious position and it was most disturbing. I may just have to kill her, telepath or not. Or at the very least, move away from Louisiana. What a shame. I rather liked it here.

When the van arrived, I waited until I was relatively certain that the coroner would be alone and went inside to do my little magic. I left the man convinced that the blow to bastard's head was the cause of death. At least no one would question Sookie any further about that part of her story.

I went home and spent the remainder of my night thinking of Sookie. I was still ready to kill her at any moment, but a part of me actually hoped that that would not be necessary. Having a telepath in my sights might be just what I needed to make my longs nights pass a little faster. At the very least, I might have to have another taste.


	3. Chapter 3

I stayed away from Sookie Stackhouse for the next couple of weeks. It was tough because I remembered how delicious she tasted and how interesting I found her, but the practical part of me knew that getting involved in her life would be a mistake that would most likely end in my having to kill her, and a part of me just thought it would be such a shame to kill such a rare find.

And so I went back to my boring routine and satisfied my needs with my usual fare again. I had a call one night from Bobby Burnham letting me know that my signature would be required in order for him to file my income taxes online. He always did such a thorough job of taking care of my business and I felt very fortunate to have found him. He said he'd call me when he was ready, but it would be very soon. I waited for a couple of nights, but didn't hear from him again. I called but just got his voice mail. I decided to just drop by his house to get it out of the way, but knew that something was wrong the minute I pulled into his driveway. I smelled death.

I was Bobby's landlord as well as employer and so I let myself in. (I had been invited in years before.) I punched in the code for the alarm and did a quick sweep of the house, but saw nothing out of order. I followed my nose out to the garage and went around the back to let myself in the side door. Bobby was tied to his work table with duct tape and had clearly been dead for at least a day or so. His fingernails were missing and his scalp had been sliced off and there were multiple fang marks all over his neck. Longshadow. Stupid fucking idiot. What kind of lame-ass vampire leaves his victim strapped to a table with fang marks? And what kind of Native American still scalps his victims? Why didn't he just leave his business card, for crying out loud. I hate sloppy vampires.

I buried Bobby behind the garage and cleaned up his workshop area where he'd been tortured. Then I went through the house again with a more careful eye. Nothing was out of place, so I assumed that Longshadow had not procured an invitation which was pretty impressive. Bobby was tougher than I thought. I wondered why an invitation hadn't been glamored out of him, but then thought that maybe whatever Longshadow wanted wasn't in the house. In fact, he may have gotten what he wanted right off the bat and then tortured Bobby just for the sport of it. It's not uncommon. I went through Bobby's desk and pulled my files out and stuffed them in a box I found in the closet. Then I unplugged his computer and put the tower in the box as well. I'd buried Bobby's cell phone with him, so I knew my number couldn't be retrieved from it. My phone number clearly held no interest for Longshadow unless he was planning on making some prank calls. I went back to the garage and rummaged through the car and my heart sank when I popped the trunk and knew what was missing: Bobby's laptop. He kept it in a black leather briefcase and that was nowhere to be seen. Fuck.

I knew that Longshadow hated me. The feeling was mutual. Ever since he'd settled in Area Five, he'd been a pain in my ass. At first I kind of felt sorry for him because he was young and stupid and clearly in need of some help getting settled. I had loaned him some money to buy a house, although why he couldn't have obtained wealth the old fashioned way was beyond me. We can glamor. We can kill. There's simply no excuse for needing money. Whatever. When I asked about repayment, he got defensive and vague about when he'd be able to pay me back. I told him to get his shit together or find another area and that was the last communication we'd had.

If Longshadow was so stupid that he couldn't get money from humans, and yet he tracked Bobby Burnham here, it was clearly time for me to do some business transactions. Periodically, I sold my properties to myself by generating a new identity to make sure that I couldn't be tracked through public records. Even vampires have to pay taxes. What's that saying? Nothing's certain but death and taxes. Funny.

So now Longshadow had Bobby's laptop which meant that he had my personal information. Fuck. I drove home but parked my car a few blocks away from my house and then flew into the trees by the lake. I sat there the rest of the night waiting for Longshadow, but he never came. I buried myself in the woods across the lake for the day even though I knew that I'd awaken much earlier than Longshadow because of my age. I just didn't want to get too comfortable in my house until I knew what was going on.

I'd been up in my tree for a couple of hours, wishing I could just go home and take a nice hot shower when the asswipe showed up. I watched him sneaking around my house and then peering into my garage. He was one worthless fool and being rid of him would be a relief. I snapped a tree branch off, flew down and plunged it into his chest before he even registered what had happened. Idiot. Then I pulled the hose out and sprayed down the grass where he had dissolved. It wasn't perfect, but a couple of good hard rains should take care of it. I did a quick fly over the neighborhood looking for unfamiliar cars, but saw nothing unusual.

I finally got that hot shower and relaxed in front of the TV for awhile before calling the palace in New Orleans to report Longshadow's demise. It was a fair staking and I made the wire transfer so that his maker, Hot Rain, would be compensated. Then I flew to my car and drove downtown to find myself a new day man.

I could usually find decent help in the bars down near the courthouse. Lots of lawyers. Even though I didn't require a law degree for my employees, it was always a reasonable place to start. I took a few business cards and had a sip from a drunk woman vomiting behind one of the bars before I went back home.

I retrieved the box from my car that held my files and Bobby's computer tower. I hooked Bobby's computer up and scrolled through the files. I found my income tax return and filed it electronically myself. I had no way of knowing where Bobby's laptop was and so knew I'd need to change my identity quickly. I emailed a couple of the lawyers I'd just met and asked for appointments the following night. Before I unhooked Bobby's computer, I dug around a little more and noticed his personal photos of his two young sons and his ex-wife. I felt a twinge of guilt that Bobby had suffered and died simply because of his connection to me. He seemed like a decent sort of fellow and was a parent, after all. I wired a few hundred thousand into his checking account before heading up to get ready for bed.

I stared at the ceiling waiting for dawn and thought of Sookie Stackhouse. I couldn't get her taste out of my mind and thought of how enticing she was. I had stayed away from her before because my self-preservation instincts told me to avoid an unglamorable human who knew of my existence. Now, my guilty conscience was telling me that being in my world could get a human killed as well as myself. I pictured Sookie sprawled out on Bobby's work table with missing fingernails and fangmarks on her neck and it strengthened my resolve to stay away from her. My last thought was of her beautiful face.


	4. Chapter 4

I found myself a new day man who didn't seem to have any family. We started the process of setting up a couple of new identities for me and he needed very little glamoring. Legal wheels turn very slowly and I knew it would probably be a few months before my properties had all changed hands, but at least I'd started the ball rolling.

I was starting to wonder if I should replace Ginger as well. She was an excellent housekeeper, but several nights I had come downstairs to find her working even though she had specific instructions not to work past dusk. She seemed to be getting mixed up about her boundaries and I wondered whether there was much left in that poor little overly-glamored head of hers. I really didn't want to kill her. I was still feeling bad about Bobby's demise, so I decided I'd give it some more thought before making a decision.

I can't honestly say that my obsession for Sookie Stackhouse had diminished, even though I'd had no contact with her. But I had taken to enjoying the stars from the rooftops of buildings near the television station and had followed her home. What can I say? She was fun to watch. Some nights I would lie on top of her tool shed or in the treetops behind her house so that I could admire her as she came and went, and yes, some nights I watched her sleep through her bedroom window.

She had begun dating a tall bald were who worked at the station. He smelled like a cat—maybe a panther—there are quite a few of those in Louisiana. He moved like a tiger, which was a possibility although they are much rarer. I tormented myself by watching them kissing on her sofa, and was only able to contain my rage because I could see that she wasn't sleeping with him. She was _mine_, dammit.

One night in particular, I was perched in a tree with my usual view of her living room when suddenly they went into her bedroom. I flew down and landed in the side yard and simply stood and watched through the bedroom window. She was distracted by his seduction and so I felt fairly confident that I wouldn't be noticed. I don't know why I stood and watched. It was pure torture. He was kissing her breasts and she was stroking his stupid bald head when suddenly she raised her eyes and they met mine. She immediately pulled him off of her and I flew up into a tree and watched him leave and then watched her running around the yard calling me. It absolutely killed me to remain in the trees and not go to her. She looked so beautiful, running with a wild look in her eye, calling my name like I was the last man on earth. I followed her into the woods and watched from above until I saw her trip and fall and knew she was hurt. She crawled for a little while but then finally tried to stand and passed out.

I couldn't take it any more and flew down and carried her home. I couldn't carry her into the house, of course, and didn't want her to get too cold. Her heartbeat was strong and I knew she was okay except for her ankle which was probably broken. I took my sweater off and put it over her head. I threaded her arms through the sleeves and pulled it down around her waist and had a flash of memory at dressing my own young daughter while she was asleep when I was a human and it made me feel a sadness I hadn't felt in many, many years. I hate having feelings.

I gathered my sleeping beauty into my arms and soon found myself lost in thought about my children, my human life, and then again about poor Bobby Burnham and how he must have suffered because of me. I felt Sookie awaken and told her she had most likely broken her ankle. She looked at me with such sweetness in her eyes and pulled me to her mouth to kiss her. I responded of course. She was my obsession, my human dream, and I couldn't get enough of her.

But then I heard her cry of pain and I broke the kiss. I got her into the house and warmed her with a fire. The practical side of me knew I should take her to a hospital, but the selfish part wanted to heal her. The more blood of mine she had, the more she was mine. She didn't seem to object to the idea of drinking my blood, which was pretty amazing in itself. How many humans would just happily accept the blood of a vampire? She drank me and I let the lust wash over me. It just felt so good. I smelled her and tasted her skin and felt her blood pulsing in her jugular vein and thought I'd lose my mind with want.

I remembered how delicious she'd tasted and how much I wanted her and then felt a twinge of guilt because I cared for her and knew this was not in her best interest. The realization that I cared for this human woman snapped me out of my trance and I jumped away from her and looked back down, stunned at my own admission to myself of having feelings for her. I had to get out of there and away from her and so I did.

I paced my floor in my bedroom. I went for a fly over the lake. I lay on the garage roof and watched the stars. I masturbated. Nothing seemed to help. I considered going downtown and having a woman, but knew it would seem empty and fruitless and I'd wind up back in my state of turmoil. I was relieved when dawn approached and I went into the house to rest in a state of oblivion without any further torturous thoughts of Sookie Stackhouse.

I woke and dressed and went downstairs to leave, noticing that Ginger had left without re-setting the alarm. My fuse couldn't have been any shorter and I was glad she'd left for the day. I made a mental note to do something about her very soon and at the very least leave her a note about the alarm before retiring for the day, but it would have to wait. I had to get to Sookie's house.

I sat on her tool shed and watched the house. She was alone and seemed to be going about a normal routine—watching television, taking a bath. I lay back and watched the stars for a moment, lost in thought and perfectly happy just to be near her when I heard her coming out into the yard. I flew to the ground and peeked around the tool shed as she…well, she seemed to be clipping a rose. She pricked her finger on a thorn and I caught the scent of her blood and hardened. I may have even drooled. Then she dropped her robe, revealing the most stunning nude body of a human woman ever created. I bit into my lower lip, piercing the skin with my fangs. She pierced her own flesh with a thorn and as the blood oozed from the tiny wound, I hissed involuntarily. Then she touched the blood trail and placed her finger between her legs and I thought, that's it. I am done.

I was on her in a flash, sucking her blood first and then fucking her in a mindless frenzy. The world could have stopped and I wouldn't have cared. Or noticed. All I was was in Sookie Stackhouse. I was fucking and sucking mindlessly like the animal I am. I watched her face as I pumped her and when I realized that she was going to come, I lost my mind and bit her face. Her _face_. It was all kinds of wrong. This woman could not be glamored and I was fucking her up against her house and biting her face. And she liked it. I came hard. I was lost.


	5. Chapter 5

If you had told me a couple of centuries ago that I'd become involved with—no,_ bonded_ to—a human woman, I would have told you that you were nuts. (But I doubt if I would have used that term. It's fairly modern.) Anyway, I did become extremely attached to Sookie. After that first memorable night when I watched a thorn open her flesh to me and then bit into her face as I climaxed, I was hooked. I went back the next night for more. And then the next. And the next. And so on.

I kept telling myself that her telepathy was what made her so enticing, but in all honesty, I don't think that was entirely true. She was so open to what I am, so accepting and loving. It was really amazing. I expected her to resist my true nature, to be afraid, but instead she embraced it. It was unexpected, and when I saw her bending to accommodate me into her life, I was touched and responded in kind. She made me feel more human than I had felt in many, many moons. A part of me resisted her acceptance, but then the long-forgotten human part of my heart melted from centuries trapped in ice and let her hold it close to her own fragile heart.

Plus, the sex was amazing.

I was still concerned that Longshadow's theft of Bobby's laptop made me vulnerable. I had no idea whether my personal information was available to others or whether that briefcase was lost forever. I was in escrow with myself on many of my properties, including the house I lived in, but would feel a lot more secure once those transactions were complete.

Sookie kept pressing me for information about where I lived and how I spent my time away from her. I had no intention of revealing anything to her until my escrows had all closed and I felt secure that no enemies could find me. There was no way I would put her safety in jeopardy. Knowing that Ginger was vulnerable at the house was bad enough. I didn't need another human's torture on my newly sensitive conscience. And Sookie was too important to me to risk her safety.

And so I suppose that Sookie's insistence on knowing my home address was a bit of a hot button for me. I couldn't very well explain to her that I was in the process of making it safer for her to come and stay at my house due to the fact that my day man had been killed for that very same address. No, no, no.

Rather than explaining myself to Sookie, I just told her that maybe it had been a mistake involving her in my life in the first place. I knew I didn't mean it when the words left my mouth, but I just didn't know what else to say. I was upset and anxious for her and pissed at myself for letting that idiot Longshadow inconvenience me this way. If it weren't for his interference, Sookie and I could have been playing house in my comfortable home for months.

I stormed out of Sookie's house and went home to lie on my roof and seek answers in the stars. I thought of how much I had changed since Sookie had entered my life, and I liked the changes. I felt happy for the first time in…well, maybe since I had been a human with my family around me. She made me feel like a man worthy of love, not just a blood-sucking monster. By the time I was heading to my bed for my daytime rest, I had made the decision that I was going to have Sookie come and live with me. I would have to make some changes to the house. And get rid of Ginger. But as soon as escrow closes, I'll feel like it's safer to have Sookie here. I'll let her interview and hire a new housekeeper. She'd probably prefer one I hadn't fucked anyway. I'd figure out something else for Ginger to do. I was seeing how this could work and finally feeling optimistic as the dawn took me and I was out.

The first thing I did when I woke was to call my new day man and ask how soon we could close the sale of the house. Seventeen days. Shit. The title had to be searched, which was really quite silly. I'd had the house built myself in 1918, but it had technically changed hands several times as my identity had changed. So, I could invite Sookie over to see the house, but wouldn't have her living here until after escrow closed in seventeen days. Okay. I had some work to do before then anyway.

Meanwhile, I wanted to get the place looking good for her to see it. I intended to bring her over after I apologized for hurting her feelings the previous night. I went downstairs to retrieve some cleaning supplies. I often cleaned my own bedroom and bathroom because sometimes it was just easier than having Ginger stay late to do it and then glamoring her afterwards. I was shocked to see her in the kitchen since she was supposed to be gone by dusk.

Her addled brain was my fault, and so rather than scolding her for remaining after dark, I simply asked her to clean my room instead. She was shocked, as usual, to find my private quarters through the upstairs hall closet. She cleaned the bathroom as I straightened the bedroom, picking up dirty clothes and stripping the bed. When she was done, I walked her back into the upstairs hallway, glamored her and told her she could go home for the night. She wandered down the steps in a fuzzy haze and I retrieved some clean sheets and my favorite comforter for the bed from the linen closet in the hall. I wanted everything to be perfect for Sookie's arrival.

Once my room was in order, I went down to check the kitchen. It was sparkling clean. Then I went to do a quick sweep of the downstairs rooms and realized that I was going to have to do something about the bookcase in the library. Ginger had accidentally discovered it once, but it just took a quick glamor to fix that. I couldn't glamor Sookie obviously and so it was imperative that she not find the bookcase and subsequently the torture room beneath it.

I hadn't used the room for ages, but I still wouldn't want to explain its existence to Sookie. I stood in front of the bookcase and pulled on the candle holder. As the bookcase began to turn, I straightened the candle holder and the bookcase stopped mid-flip. I examined the bookcase trying to decide the best way to immobilize it. I didn't want to damage the wood or the floor, so simply nailing it in place wasn't the answer. It really was a work of art and I hated to ruin it. I had discovered one like it in a castle in Transylvania in…oh, maybe the 1650's or 60's—somewhere in there. I thought it was pure genius and decided to install a replica in this house when I had it built. Unfortunately, the design was depicted in almost every horror movie ever made in recent decades and so its secrecy could no longer be assured. I suppose it was time to render it useless anyway, but it seemed a real shame.

I stood and studied the candle holder; its motion made the pulley system work. I decided that I'd just drill a hole through the base and put a pin in place. That way the pin could be removed later if I ever wanted to use the thing, but it would be easily concealed in the meantime. All I needed to do was to run out to the garage for my tools, fix the candleholder, and then I could go and get Sookie to bring her here to see her soon-to-be new home. And that's the last thought I had before I caught a quick whiff of a familiar scent and my head exploded in pain as the room went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke in searing pain, smelling my own blood and burning flesh and also that scent that I'd caught just before the pain: Hot Rain. He'd never been my favorite vampire. He lived in my area at one time and had been nothing but trouble. I'd hated his child as well, and well, you know how that story ended. According to vampire law, I had staked Longshadow with good reason and compensated his maker and that should have been the end of it. But vampires are not predictable creatures. Rules mean very little to some. That's precisely why I've been arguing against our coming out to the world for decades. Until we can control our own, how can we expect the world to accept us? Here was a prime example of why vampires should not walk among humans, and I had a sinking feeling that he just might be the end of me.

I realized that Ginger must have invited him into the house when I sent her downstairs to go home while I was making the bed. That was my mistake. Because of Bobby's death, I felt sorry for Ginger and kept her on even though I'd been seeing clues that she was far too glamored to be competent. I should have just killed her the first night I found her in the house after dark. Or at the very least, sent her away. My weakness in her regard may have just cost me my undead life. All Hot Rain would have had to do was glamor her, procure an invitation, and send her home. Or maybe he killed her? No, I think I would have smelled a corpse, even one that fresh.

How fucking perfect was it for him that I just happened to have that goddamn bookcase open right when he came into the room? What are the odds? I considered the irony as he pulled my head back by my hair and used a pair of needle nose pliers on my face. I didn't bother to try to be quiet. I knew no one could hear my screams, and so what if they did? There would be no rescue.

And so for many nights, I became the entertainment of Hot Rain. He seemed to want nothing of me other than to see my suffering. He never asked me any questions, never really spoke to me other than an occasional laugh. During the first week or so, I hoped that Ginger hadn't accidentally stayed late again and gotten herself killed by Hot Rain, but by the second week, I'd stopped caring about Ginger. I was still grateful that Sookie didn't know where I lived. At least I didn't have to worry about her safety. Thinking of her was just about the only thing that allowed me to hang on to my sanity. I pictured her face and fantasized about her body. I felt bad that our last moments together were hurtful for her and hoped that in time that pain would be replaced by more joyful memories of me. I felt fairly certain that deep down she knew that I loved her in spite of the fact that I had never said the words. Because we were bonded, she knew my feelings as well as I knew them myself.

I was grateful that our houses were far enough apart that she most likely could not feel my anguish. I wished that I had transferred some of my property to her so that she could at least enjoy some of my wealth after I'm gone. I wondered if it had been more than seventeen days and if my escrow had closed. I'd lost track of the days. Not that any of that mattered any more anyway. Funny that I'd even remembered it.

Because I'm older than Hot Rain, I always woke before he did and was able to stay awake after he'd had to retire. I wondered where he spent his days. There was no way he could have known how to get into my bedroom (and he must not have even known about it or he would have gotten the code from me easily in a weak moment). Perhaps he buried himself somewhere on the grounds. He never would have risked sleeping in an unsecured room of the house. At any rate, because of his relative youth, there were two windows of time every night where I had a reprieve from the pain and I relished those moments. It was in those moments that I thought of Sookie the most.

I woke one night and as usual, kept going in and out of consciousness because of the hunger and pain. When I was coherent, I tried to focus on Sookie. I even thought I smelled her. I was so very hungry. When I heard her voice, I wondered whether I was hallucinating and had perhaps snapped mentally. For an instant, I assumed that Hot Rain had somehow brought her to me and I immediately felt fear. Fear for her safety. But then I opened my eyes and saw her beautiful face and no Hot Rain. Her brows were creased in concern and for a spilt second I wondered what was bothering her. Then I remembered where I was and told her to run. I tried to warn her of Hot Rain and then I fell back into a stupor.

I don't know how long I was out, but I heard her screams and felt her terror at the same time and it gave me the energy to get to my knees and begin crawling up the steps. When I got to the top, the bookcase was halfway open and I pulled myself up to my feet and stumbled into the library. I followed the screams—both his and hers—into the front foyer and saw him on her. He was repeatedly and mindlessly biting into her chained neck (That's my clever girl!), his dick in one hand, ready to rape her. He was so completely consumed with bloodlust that he was too stupid to stop and remove the chains so that he could get to her. But I could see that it was just a matter of seconds before he'd rape her and then most likely find an unchained spot from which to drain her. Sookie was stabbing at him with something in her hand until Hot Rain knocked it from her with his free hand. Amazingly, it landed at my feet just as I got to the two of them. I gathered the last of my energy and picked up what I immediately recognized as a wooden (oh yes!) candleholder. I fell forward on top of Hot Rain, sinking the splintered wood into his back. As he began to liquefy, I pushed myself off of him and Sookie onto the floor and lost consciousness again.

I felt Sookie on top of me, heard her crying, and tried to wake up. Then she was shaking me and finally stroking me and I wondered if I was having another fantasy and was still in the chair in the basement. But then I heard her sobs again and smelled her blood, and I was so overjoyed that I was not hallucinating and that she was safe and I was still here. I opened my mouth and tasted the sweetest nectar I'd ever had, joyful that Sookie had done the unimaginable and saved me from certain and final death. I wrapped my arms around her gratefully and held on tight.


	7. Chapter 7

I remember very little of the night that Sookie saved me beyond staking Hot Rain. I know I got us into my bedroom and I called Ginger to tell her not to come in to work. (Ginger would never again step foot in my house.) And I remember feeling Sookie safely snuggled against me and vaguely wished I'd had the strength for a shower. I doubt if I smelled my best. But she didn't seem to mind. She smelled like dead vampire herself.

When I woke the following night, I felt Sookie's presence and pushed her hand down to my cock. She began gently stroking me and I was in heaven but then I wondered for a second if I was hallucinating. Was I still in the chair? Was Hot Rain here? I stopped her hand and opened my eyes. She seemed to really be here and I wondered whether I had finally gone mad until I bit into her throat and knew that no hallucination could possibly be this good. I felt her warm blood coat my throat and restore my strength and I felt better than I had in centuries. I was with my bonded—my chosen—when I had been all but certain that my undead life was over.

Sookie told me that she had returned the house to order and I loved the idea that she was already making it her own and taking care of it and of me. I pulled her into the shower and devoured every inch of her. This was the body I had imagined in every tormented moment of my incarceration and I had never been so grateful to touch it. We enjoyed each other, exploring and laughing and sharing in the joy of being together.

I took Sookie downstairs and fixed her a well-deserved meal and showed her the house. I was pleased that she seemed so comfortable in it. After I made us a fire, I opened Sookie's robe and my own and laid her out on the soft rug in front of the fireplace. I kissed her tenderly and massaged her body until I felt her completely relax. Then I toyed with her with my fingers and tongue until she came, softly moaning my name. I loved watching her face when she came. While she was still riding her high, I mounted her and filled her with my own passion. As I rode her, I watched the firelight play on her beautiful features and let my love flow into her heart. Tears fell from her eyes into her hair and I kissed them away just before we shared heartfelt joy as we came together.

We relaxed by the fire, just feeling each other's feelings in pure bliss until she began to grow tired. She insisted on taking herself home in spite of my objections. I knew how important her job was to her and her independence, and so I reluctantly let her go, but not before I gave her a house key and impressed upon her what she meant to me and how I wanted her.

The following week was a full one. I glamored my address out of Ginger's memory and moved her into another house of mine where she could live a fairly normal life believing an uncle had left her money. I pushed Hot Rain's car (which was parked behind my garage) into the lake with Bobby's briefcase still in the trunk. I disabled the candleholder just in time for our new housekeeper to begin. He was Sookie's clever choice—a flamboyantly gay man named Lafayette Reynolds. Escrows closed all over town, ending the property ownership of Leif Norrman and Eric Northman. Some new escrows opened, selling homes to an unsuspecting Sookie Stackhouse (just in case).

I began a new chapter in my long undead life. After centuries of simply marking time, I found meaning in my existence when I discovered a clever, brave, funny young human with whom to share my nights. We made a home together, pleased each other, explored our bond and love, and found a happy life under the stars.

XXX

A/N: If you haven't already done so, I hope you'll check out the Halloween contest:

http://www . fanfiction . net/~EricandhisGreatPumpkin

If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, you'll find my two entries, Samhain and Dead Boys. I've written an EPOV companion to Dead Boys that I'll post after the contest.

Also, go see the human cowboy contest:

http://www . fanfiction . net/~ericstravaganza

My entry there (again, at the bottom of the list) is Chihuahua Mountain.

And I'm proud and honored to be judging a contest for new writers:

http://www . fanfiction . net/u/2130969/Poppin_Cherries

I hope all you newbies will enter!

(Remove the spaces before and after the dots to find the contests.)

And keep checking my profile. I'm starting a new story soon called Stolen Beauty.


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